NHRA driver Capps mingles with racing fans in Union

Published: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 2:44 a.m.

CONCORD, N.C. ? NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps might portray the image of a big city, life-in-the-fast-lane person. The truth is he?s really a small-town guy.

During a visit to Union this week, the driver of a 10,000-horsepower Funny Car, admitted he fit in well with the attendees of the small-town?s NAPA Auto Parts? open-house. Hundreds of residents came out to mingle with the driver who stars in his sponsor?s commercials with Michael Waltrip.

?Going into places like Union takes me back to my childhood,? said Capps, who calls Carlsbad, Calif., home. ?I remember very well tagging along with my dad to the events like we have in Union, where in the middle of the week, the town shuts down and you come out? eat hot dogs and talk racing.

Those very commercials have enabled Capps to become more of a household name as a driver of one of those cars where the parachutes come out at the finish line.

?For this many people to show up and want to get their pictures taken with me and get an autograph still makes me shake my head,? said Capps, a professional drag racer for 18 years. ?There are times I find it hard to believe people want my autograph.?

Capps? record on the track certainly warrants star status. He?s won 40 NHRA events and reached 80 final rounds.

?I?m really a small-town guy and shy on top of that. When I put the firesuit on, it opens me up a bit. I grew up shy and not much has changed about that over the years. When I go to places like Union, I fit in well because I remember what it was like to walk around and take in the atmosphere. I got my share of autographs back in the day.?

The greatest part of the small town visits, Capps said, has a lot to do with how well-versed the residents are on NHRA championship drag racing.

?When I first started my driving career, the NHRA asked me to participate in their media tours and when we came in, we?d land in the big city airports and then we?d drive three hours into some place deep in the sticks,? Capps said. ?I?d talk to these small-town papers and always felt I needed to sell the NHRA?s excitement. What I learned is that I didn?t have to sell as much.?

And in Union, Capps wasn?t selling. He was hanging out.

Bobby Bennett is the editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading Internet drag racing magazine based in Spartanburg.

Source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130418/articles/130419613

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